Announcing appearances, publications, and occasional thoughts on natural philosophy and ancient history by philosopher, historian, and author Richard Carrier.

Richard Carrier is the renowned author of several books including Sense and Goodness without God and Proving History, as well as numerous articles online and in print. His avid readers span the world from Hong Kong to Poland. With a Ph.D. in ancient history from Columbia University, he specializes in the modern philosophy of naturalism and humanism, the origins of Christianity, and the intellectual history of Greece and Rome, with particular expertise in ancient philosophy, science and technology. He has also become a noted defender of scientific and moral realism, Bayesian reasoning, and the epistemology of history. For more about him and his work visit www.richardcarrier.info.

EVENTS

Indelible Nirmukta

Two new blogs have launched at FtB over the past few weeks and as usual they are fascinating additions. (FTB’s front page has also been cleaned up a bit–more improvements to come).

The Indelible Stamp by Tauriq Moosa [that’s TAR-rik, not tar-REEK] surveys culture and ethics from an international atheist perspective, touching on all manner of issues in the area of “practical ethics, focusing on subjects like free expression, killing, sex, and religion in public life.” See So It Begins and On the Blog’s Name, and his bio at BigThink. He is currently a tutor in ethics, bioethics and critical thinking at the University of Cape Town, South Africa while pursuing a graduate degree at Stellenbosch University. His bio here says it all:

Tauriq Moosa writes on ethical matters in the news. He writes a regular blog at BigThink.com [Against the New Taboo] on so-called “taboo” issues, like incest, infanticide and cannibalism, examining whether evidence matches outrage. He has tutored bioethics and critical thinking. His writing has appeared in io9, New Humanist, Skeptic, Free Inquiry, and 3QuarksDaily.com. He has been recommended by The New Yorker, The New York Times Opinionator, and the Huffington Post. He debated Desmond Tutu for a BBC documentary, but lost due to a cup-cake interception. He hates dolphins, will never have children and loves good writing – whether as a novel, comic book, or TV series.

Nirmukta on FTB, meanwhile, is a joint blog for several writers affiliated with the Nirmukta community, which promotes science, freethought and humanism in India and South Asia (see Nirmukta.com). Their objectives include “provid[ing] a platform for the freethought and secular humanist community in India and South Asia,” advancing “a naturalistic life philosophy as a moral and fulfilling alternative to religion and spirituality,” “promot[ing] secular humanism, equality, social justice, communal harmony and human rights” as well as “scientific literacy,” supporting “the fight against pseudo-science,” and “work[ing] towards building a culture of secularism” and “a secular public policy keeping with our constitution [in India].” They explain that “nirmukta” is “a Sanskrit word that means freed [or] liberated” because “we are freed of dogma, orthodoxy and prejudice” and “uphold and celebrate freedom of inquiry and expression, guided by scientific temper and humanistic principles.” Like Moosa, they will be contributing an international perspective on politics, morality, culture, and belief from a perspective of atheistic humanism, and opening another door for FtB readers to hear about the thoughts and issues of South Asian peoples and cultures.